LTA Appoints Executive Search Firm to Find New CEO

The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) has appointed executive search firm Odgers Berndtson to co-ordinate the search for the LTA’s new Chief Executive, no rx following Roger Draper’s announcement that he will be stepping down in September.

The position will be advertised in early May.

David Gregson, Chairman of the LTA Board, said: “This is one of the most challenging jobs in sport, at a key moment for British tennis.

“We are looking for an exceptional individual to lead the organisation with the objective of getting more people playing tennis, more often.”

Vicky Williams, LTA Head of HR and Development, said: “The position will be advertised shortly and we will then draw up a long-list of candidates from the responses to the advertisement, as well as a closely targeted search for candidates.

“We anticipate that the selection and interview process will take place in the summer.”

The search will be led for Odgers Berndtson by Simon Cummins and Simon Hayes.

Simon Cummins, Head of the Global Sports Practice at Odgers Berndtson said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with the Lawn Tennis Association to find an outstanding Chief Executive for one of Britain’s leading sports organisations.”

IMG Media Extends PGA of America Partnership

IMG Media, a subsidiary business of IMG Worldwide, have extended their long-term partnership with the PGA of America with a new multi-year agreement that grants IMG Media exclusive international broadcast rights for the PGA Championship; Ryder Cup when hosted in the United States and Senior PGA Championship through 2016.

IMG Media, whose partnership with PGA of America dates back 25 years, will also continue to produce the “Official Highlight Video” of the PGA Championship during this term.

The contract enables IMG Media, which is the world’s largest independent producer and distributor of sports programming, to distribute this month’s Ryder Cup, the week of Sept. 25-30, to more than 140 additional countries and territories outside of the United States, United Kingdom and Continental Europe. This widespread audience reach demonstrates the amount of international demand and interest there is in the Ryder Cup—and the game of golf—from sports fans worldwide, which extends well beyond the countries participating in the game’s pre-eminent event.

“The PGA of America is delighted to continue our partnership with IMG Media, which dates back to the late 1980s,” said Kevin Carter, senior director for business development at The PGA of America. “The global demand for golf programming continues to grow significantly, and the amount of interest in the Ryder Cup from sports fans around the world is both impressive and unprecedented.”

“The relationship between The PGA of America and IMG Media over these many years has been a partnership in the truest sense of the word,” said Peter Smith, senior vice president, director of international sales, IMG Media. “I could not be more pleased that we have extended our relationship with this tremendous organization for a further term.”

Sunderland Partner with Korean America’s Cup Team

Sunderland AFC have continued their international brand expansion by partnering with Team Korea in the America’s Cup.

The co-marketing partnership, which is reportedly worth a ‘seven-figure’ deal, will see the side’s logo feature on the Team Korea yacht, whilst the Stadium of Light will have Team Korea branding on display.

The deal comes swiftly after Sunderland’s partnership with not-for-profit business initiative Invest in Africa, who have become the side’s principal partner and shirt sponsor for the 2012/13 and 2013/14 Premier League seasons.

Mike Farnan, Sunderland’s International and National Marketing Director, said: “The America’s Cup is a true sporting phenomenon and like the Barclays Premier League, it enjoys an enormous following from audiences and high profile, international brands across the world.

“This partnership with Team Korea is another huge step forward for the club as we continue to extend our awareness cross-continents.”

Dong Young Kim, CEO of Team Korea said: “This is a great opportunity for both partners to expand their reach to a wider audience offering a more attractive opportunity for prospective sponsors.

“Football has a very large following in Korea, and there is a very strong connection with Sunderland who often play in Korea and have our star Korean player Ji Dong Won on their team.”

Sunderland recently returned from South Korea after partaking in the Peace Cup for their pre-season training.

The America’s Cup is the oldest trophy for international competition in any sport. Only the Olympics and the World Cup have a bigger global economic impact.

F1 Teams Williams and Renault Revive Successful Partnership

Formula One team Williams have announced that they are reviving one of the most successful partnerships in F1 by teaming up with Renault for the 2012 and 2013 seasons.

Williams and Renault enjoyed huge success between 1989 and 1997, winning four drivers’ and five constructors’ titles and a total of 63 race wins.

The initial deal will see Renault supplying engines and chassis, and the partnership could continue after the introduction of the new, energy efficient, turbo-charged V6 engines in the sport in 2014.

Frank Williams, Williams principle, said: “Our previous relationship with Renault was one of the most successful in Williams’ history but we will not allow ourselves to dwell too much on the past.

“We must look to the future and continue to re-build our on-track reputation, which I am hopeful that today’s announcement will help us to do”.

Bernard Rey, president of Renault F1, added: ‘There’s a great pride in reviving the Williams-Renault name. Together, we produced racing cars that are recognised for their technical innovation and it is still Renault’s most successful period in F1 to date. It’s a hugely exciting opportunity for both Renault and Williams’.

NBA Look to Increase Indian Fanbase Through Times Group Deal

A digital partnership has been agreed with India’s largest media house, the Times Group, by the National Basketball Association (NBA) in a measured effort to ramp up its fanbase in emerging markets.

A dedicated NBA section on timesofindia.com will offer daily updates on the latest news and scores under the terms of the agreement, ahead of the NBA Finals that begun last night, May 31, between the Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat, with Times Group journalists being flown to the US to cover the action.

The NBA section will offer daily video highlights, photo galleries and articles from NBA analysts, as well as features on the league and its players while the game was broadcast live on Indian television from 6:30am Wednesday on Ten Sports.

The league’s own website already has a dedicated page for India and a number of other countries, including China, where an aggressive marketing push in recent years has helped make basketball popular with a huge fan base.

The digital initiative with Times Internet follows up on several on-ground activities prominent among them being the Mahindra NBA Challenge, a multi-city, community-based basketball league in India.

BCCI Set to Earn USD223m from IPL Season 4

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the principal owner of Twenty20 brand Indian Premier League (IPL), could earn an estimated US$223.2m from the season 4 of the cash-rich tournament after sharing the central revenue pool with the individual franchises.

According to research by financial services company, India Infoline the IPL revenue pool includes franchise fee, broadcast rights fee, in-stadia sponsorship, and new media rights fee.

The BCCI signed a new sponsor in German automobile major Volkswagen till 2012 to join the existing four co-sponsors of Hero Honda, Citibank, Vodafone and Karbonn Mobiles.

Besides renegotiating the broadcast rights agreement with Sony Max, the BCCI sold media rights including television rights in certain market’s and global internet, mobile and radio rights for $58.25m this year.

Additionally, the BCCI had last year auctioned two new franchises – Pune and Kochi – for $370m and $333.33m respectively, for a period of 10 years.

The India Infoline study stated: “The 3x jump in bid amounts for the new franchises, an increase in BCCI’s share of the central pool of revenues, and lucrative deals for online rights have also contributed to the surge in BCCI’s revenues.”

The research also adds that IPL’s Indian sub-continent broadcast rights holder Sony Max will earn advertisment revenue in excess of $200.95m. The drop in ratings in India of 20 per cent over last year, will have no impact on Max’s revenue since the broadcaster had already sold 90-95 per cent of its inventory even before the IPL had started.

The study added: “Set Max’s overall ad revenue from IPL 2011 is likely to be more than $200.95m, ensuring a profitable edition.”

ECB CEO David Collier to Step Down

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have announced Chief Executive David Collier will retire from his position after the 2014 season.

ECB Chairman Giles Clarke said: “David has overseen the most successful period of development, buy playing success and growth for cricket in England and Wales and we are extremely grateful to him. During his decade as Chief Executive David has produced and delivered three strategic plans which have revolutionised cricket in this country. The three plans – Building Partnerships, Grounds to Play and Champion Counties have provided the blueprint for the success not only of England teams but also the ECB Board, County and recreational structures.

“When we reflect on the past 10 years we will all recognise the huge debt of gratitude which is owed by cricket in England and Wales to David Collier and the management teams he has built and revitalised during that period.”

David Collier succeeded Tim Lamb in October 2004 and is only the second Chief Executive in ECB’s 17 year history and is one of the longest serving chief executives in modern British sport. Prior to taking up the role of Chief Executive of ECB David served on the ECB Board as an elected  Director since ECB’s inception. His contribution to sport was recently recognised by Loughborough University with the award of an Honorary Degree and he is a previous recipient of the Sydney Friskin award for services to hockey.

Before joining the ECB David Collier was Chief Executive at Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club from 1999 – 2004 during which time he oversaw the modernisation of Trent Bridge which subsequently developed into one of the most impressive Test grounds in the world.

David Collier said: “After 10 years at ECB I believe it is the right time to step aside and retire from the position of Chief Executive as I shall turn 60 in the Spring and I do believe the time is right for a new CEO to open the batting.

“I am immensely proud of the achievements and the enormous strides forward which cricket in England and Wales has made during the past decade. We now possess venues which are amongst the best in the world, we lead the world in women’s and disabilities cricket, our recreational game is flourishing and we have delivered commercial success providing more revenue than ever before for our 18 First Class Counties.  

“Our success in bidding for  and winning six ICC Global Events is testimony to our ability to deliver world class events and the staging of the 2009, 2010 and 2013 events set new standards for these tournaments.

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Denver Nuggets Extend Social Media Reach to Sina Weibo

National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise Denver Nuggets have have the extended their social media reach and the league’s promotion effort in China by creating an official Sina Weibo account.

Sina Weibo is a micro-blogging website considered a hybrid between Facebook and Twitter. Weibo is one of the most popular sites in China, with roughly 100 million messages posted daily. The NBA has attracted more than 70 million followers since launching its official Weibo account on Dec. 17, 2010. 

On March 24, the Nuggets, in conjunction with the NBA, launched their official Sina Weibo account to share news, photos and other team-related information with millions of potential fans in China.

Attracting more than 30 percent of all Chinese Internet users, Weibo offers an opportunity for the Nuggets and the NBA to communicate directly with fans and provide unique content that help them learn more about the team the league.

The Nuggets media relations department and interactive marketing team work closely with the NBA China staff on the team’s Weibo page. The NBA China staff currently manages the translation and basic game content and updates, while the team and league collaborate on overall content selection and strategy.

Two current Nuggets players, Aaron Brooks and Wilson Chandler, played professionally in China in 2011-12.

The announcement follows La Liga giant FC Barcelona joining Sina Weibo recently.

Oslo Reveals Logo & Identity for 2022 Winter Olympics Bid

Oslo 2022, the group representing Norway’s capital city bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics, has unveiled its logo and visual identity just ahead of the opening of the Sochi 2014 Games.

The logo is also based on a Nordic design expression – Nordic Simplicity.  The design contains only character elements put together as a kit.

“We have been concerned that the logo should take up in its core values as urban and natural, playful, responsible, ambitious and generous. I think we have got it,” said Oslo 2022 President Eli Grimsby.

“We now take with us into our communications both nationally and internationally.”

“The visual profile is for many the first impression of the Oslo Olympic application and determines how our message is received,” said Oslo Olympic commissioner, Hallstein Bjercke.

“It is playful, innovative and eye-catching and will be noticed, both at home and abroad.”

Grimsby explained “Oslo is probably the only capital in the world that can organize the Olympic Winter Games in an urban yet close to nature environment.  We will give the world a spectacular sports fest based on Norwegian values.”

Oslo is competing with Almaty, Beijing, Krakow and Lviv to host the Games.  Representatives from each city are currently in Sochi to participate in the Games’ observer program.

Application files are due to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on March 14; the final election will be held in Kuala Lumpur on July 31, 2015.

Further Olympic Committees Receive Terrorist Threats Heading into Sochi

It was revealed today that Sochi are facing further fears of terrorist threats as more Olympic Committees announced that they had also received threatening emails.

The Hungarian Olympic Committee (HOC) said yesterday they had received warnings of terrorist threats made towards the Sochi Winter Olympic Games. 

Britain, prostate Italy and Germany were amongst countries whose Olympic Committees had confirmed that they had received threatening emails.

It has been suggested that most of the Olympic Committees had received similar or even the same messages which warned attacks against competitors or delegates if they travelled to the games in Sochi.

However the British Olympic Committee (BOC) seemed to doubt the threat, physician releasing a statement where they described the email as, ‘not credible’.

The HOC seemed to follow suit as they agreed with Britain in agreeing that the threats that it received had been investigated and were found not be threatening.

Nevertheless the German Olympic Committee spokesman Christian Klaue said: “We take all tips on security questions seriously and are in close contact with the relevant German authorities.